Cracking The Rosa Parks Family Code! Must-Read Guide!

When you think of the civil rights movement in the United States, the first name that comes to mind is Rosa Parks.

On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks made history when she refused to give up her bus seat to a white person. This simple act of defiance sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott and catapulted the civil rights movement into the national spotlight.

But who was Rosa Parks? What was her family like? In this article, we will take a closer look at the life and times of Rosa Parks and her remarkable family.

Rosa Parks Family Background

In this section of the article, we will discuss the family background of Rosa Parks.

Rosa was born Rosa Louise McCauley on February 4, 1913, in Tuskegee, Alabama. Her mother Leona McCauley was a teacher, and her father James McCauley was a carpenter. Rosa had a younger brother named Sylvester.

After her parents separated, Rosa Parks moved to Montgomery with her mother and brother to live with her maternal grandparents. There she grew up on a farm. All the members of Rosa's new family were associated with AME (African Methodist Episcopal Church).

Rosa Parks' Life Before The Boycott

In the early 20th century, some of the American states, mainly those in the southern region, adopted new constitutions that effectively denied the voting rights of black people and many poor white people.

Along with that, many segregation laws were established under the name of Jim Crow Laws.

These laws were so ferocious that they even imposed racial segregation on public facilities, transportation (public buses and trains), and retail stores. As a result, all the train and bus companies in the south created policies stating that every vehicle must have separate seating for white and black people.

In addition to that, bus services for black school students were ceased and the funds for educational programs for black children were drastically reduced.

From her autobiography, 'Rosa Parks My Story', we also get a glimpse at the intense racism that was prevalent in society during this time. She described vividly how her grandfather always guarded the front door of their house every time the Ku Klux Klan walked down the street.

She also describes how the Industrial School For Girls was burned down twice and how the faculty were frequently ostracized by the white people living in the community.

She also recalls the time when the white children living in her neighborhood used to bully her. However, she also mentioned that she never took physical abuse and insults without retaliation and often fought back.

Rosa Parks' Life And Legacy

Even though she is no longer alive, Rosa Parks' story has inspired a lot of people and organizations to fight against racism. In this section of the article, we will discuss the life and legacy that she left behind her.

The bus boycott carried out by Rosa Parks in Montgomery inspired several similar actions in different parts of the world. One of the most popular of them is the 1963 Bristol Bus Boycott.

Inspired by Rosa Parks, Paul Stephenson also began a bus boycott to protest the prejudice against people of color operated by a city bus company in Bristol.

For her endeavor in the making of a free and anti-racist society, the city of Detroit named 12th street after her in 1976. Today, it is known as Rosa Parks Boulevard.

The next year she also received the Spingarn Medal from the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People); it is the highest honor given by the organization.

In 1980, she also became the recipient of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Award. In addition to that, she was also given the African-American Achievement Award from California State University.

Following this, the award was renamed the Rosa Parks Award. For her incomparable contribution as a civil rights activist, she was also incorporated into the Michigan Women's Hall of Fame.

In 1984, the National Coalition of 100 Black Women gave her the Candace Award. In 1987, Parks and Elaine Steele founded the Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute for Self-Development. In 1993, she entered the National Women's Hall of Fame.

In 1994, Soka University (Japan) and Florida State University gave her honorary doctorate degrees. In 1996, the US government awarded Parks the Presidential Medal of Freedom. In 2000, Troy University built the Rosa Parks Library and Museum to honor the legendary woman.

After Parks' death, she was buried at Woodlawn Cemetery in Detroit, between her mother and husband. Following that, the authorities renamed the place the Rosa L. Parks Freedom Chapel.

Rosa Parks' Life Challenges

Parks grew up in a very challenging time for black people and women, and as such, was faced with a number of challenges in her life.

Growing up Parks had to struggle a lot in order to deal with the prevalent racism in the southern parts of the country. She was extremely scared of the people associated with the Ku Klux Klan, a white supremacist group that frequently tortured black people and demolished black houses, churches, and schools.

She also stated in her autobiography 'Rosa Parks My Story' that in her childhood she was frequently bullied and physically abused by the white children living in the neighborhood,

She also described an incident that she witnessed first-hand where a bus driver beat a black man because the latter mistakenly walked in his way. She also mentioned that the punishment for the bus driver for doing such a terrible thing was only a $24 fine.

Rosa Parks' Early Life Accomplishments

Rosa Louise McCauley married Raymond Parks in 1932. Raymond Parks was a barber based in Montgomery and also was a member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. After a decade, Rosa decided to participate in the civil rights movement and joined the NAACP's Montgomery chapter.

She had always wanted to remove the racial barrier between black and white people, and for that, she took a group of African-Americans (mainly students) to the exposition of the Freedom Train. According to the laws of the Supreme Court, this train was supposed to be free of racial segregation.

By asking many African-Americans to attend the exposition in the presence of white students, Parks showed everyone how an ideal society should work.

Why is Rosa Parks so important?

In this section, we will talk more about the Montgomery Bus Boycott and Rosa Parks' contribution to the event.

It all started on December 1, 1955, when Parks boarded a Montgomery bus after work. The bus was crowded and Rosa Parks sat on a seat reserved for white people.

So, when a white man boarded the bus at the next stop and found no empty seats, the bus driver asked Parks and a few African-Americans to leave their seats. This was something that Montgomery bus drivers often did. However, on this occasion, Rosa Parks refused to move from her seat and ended up getting arrested.

Parks' arrest led African-American leaders, including Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., to boycott Montgomery's city buses. Even though the local authority found Parks guilty of breaking a local ordinance, this boycott was active for 381 days and later became known as the famous Montgomery Bus Boycott.

The boycott eventually ended in 1956 when the Supreme Court ruled that the color segregation laws in Montgomery were unconstitutional.

Rosa Parks' Family And Life Growing Up

Rosa Parks learned how to sew at an early age from both her mother and grandmother. Around that time, women would regularly do their sewing after the other household chores were completed, in order to make and repair clothes and other items.

So, Rosa grew up watching her mother and grandmother making quilts and tried to make some of her own. Surprisingly, she completed her first quilt at the age of only ten years old, and at the age of eleven, she sewed her first dress.

It was also at this time that she started attending Industrial School For Girls (before that she studied at rural schools).

Later, in her life, Rosa Louise McCauley attended a laboratory school to get a secondary education and a high school diploma. This school was organized by the Alabama State Teachers College for Negroes.

However, she could not complete her studies, as her grandmother and mother fell ill and she had to take care of them. Rosa married Raymond Parks in 1932.